Ogilvy Johannesburg has won acclaim at the TED 2011 Conference in California as its campaign for HIV/Aids relief organisation, The Topsy Foundation, was one of 10 winners in the inaugural 2011 TED Ads Worth Spreading Challenge.
TED (www.ted.com) is a small nonprofit devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading”. It started in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader.
TED believes“aSelihann ad worth spreading is an ad that people truly want to see and share. It might be hilariously funny or stunningly beautiful or wickedly clever. It might encapsulate a killer idea, promote an inspiring cause, or tell a captivating story.”
The TED Challenge, which focused on online video, called on creative individuals around the world to submit their ads worth spreading, and culminated in thousands of entries. The winning ads were those that served to raise the bar, elevate the craft, and invent new forms of online engagement.
As one of the winners, Ogilvy’s ‘Selinah’ finds itself in incredible company, with other ads honoured including Intel’s ‘The Chase’, and Google’s ‘The Wilderness Downtown’. According to the multidisciplinary judging panel, the Topsy campaign was one of the stand-out entries to the competition.
‘Selinah’, produced by Egg Films, features the true story of an Aids sufferer who experiences the ravaging effects of her disease being reversed over a period of 90 days through the administration of anti-retrovirals (ARVs). The remarkable piece serves as an illustration of the power of advertising to do good. Since the launch of the campaign last year, Topsy has seen an influx of support, and the number of patients requesting ARV treatment has also risen sharply.
Fran Luckin, executive creative director, who was in LA when the winners were announced, said “We are proud and humbled to receive this recognition from what is undoubtedly one of the most powerful international gatherings of thought leaders in the world today. Selinah’s power and deep emotional appeal seems to be able to transcend cultures and continents, and we are thrilled that what was a labour of love for the team continues to have such a positive impact on the world at large.”
“Selinah has already enjoyed great success – both on and offline – in South Africa, and we are hoping that the TED recognition will elevate the campaign, and its message, to another level by exposing the plight of HIV/Aids sufferers, and the hope that ARV’s provide, to a global audience”, concludes Luckin.
Winners of the TED Ads worth Spreading award will receive thousands of dollars worth of exposure on TED.com, YouTube and Facebook as well as during other large TED conferences in 2011.
Watch the ad here: https://www.youtube.com/user/thetopsyfoundation
